Concholepas concholepas

Two animals of Concholepas Concholepas

Concholepas Concholepas is a species of snail from the family of whelks ( Muricidae ), which is common on the Pacific coast of South America. The snail feeds mainly on barnacles and mussels.

Features

The thick, slightly egg-shaped shell of Concholepas Concholepas, which reaches a length of about 7 to 13 cm in adult snails, has very few whorls, which increase very rapidly and so give the shell the appearance of a Phrygian cap. The case mouth is very large and is not closed by the operculum. The outer surface of the house is coated with strong ribs and extending transversely along both. It is white inside and outside dark brown to purplish- gray. The worm has a short head, sitting at the two semi-cylindrical, conical at the tip sensor at the bottom together. The small black eyes sitting on a broadening at half the sensor. In addition the right sensor in the male sits the penis. The mouth is located at the base of the probe and is surrounded by a triangular recess of the foot. The thick, fleshy, rounded in front and behind flattened foot is covered with folds and wrinkles. He is white to yellow- greenish with a brown border and purple spots. The above the head which opens gill cavity is large and contains in its center a large and at the edge of a small gill. The worm can not retreat into his shell, but can deal with this like a limpet or abalone with the help of her strong foot hold on to the rocks. The horny operculum is elongated with a side core and much too small to close the mouth.

Dissemination

Concholepas Concholepas occurs on the Pacific coast of South America from Lobos de Afuera in Peru to Cape Horn in Chile, including the Juan Fernández Islands.

Habitat

Concholepas Concholepas lives on rocks in temperate waters in the intertidal zone and below it to a depth of 40 m.

Life cycle

Like other whelks is Concholepas Concholepas dioecious. The male mated the female with his penis. Attach them to the coast of central Chile, the females lay their egg capsules during the southern autumn on rocky ground in the lower part of the intertidal zone and deeper. About a month after oviposition escape capsules veliger larvae, which have a shell diameter of about 260 microns. It follows an approximately three-month pelagic phase during which the larvae from plankton live until they metamorphose to 30 m depth on rocky ground to small snails. Sexual maturity is reached at the age of about 4 years in a housing length 5.4 to 6.7 cm.

Food

Like other whelks feeds Concholepas Concholepas of shells, including mussel species such as Semimytilus algosus and Perumytilus purpuratus, and barnacles such as Chthamalus scabrosus.

Relevance to humans

Local common names for the species are loco ( Chilean Spanish, loanword from Mapudungun ), pata de burro ( " Eselsfuß " ) or chanque ( Peruvian Spanish). In English it is also known as Chilean abalone ( " Chilean abalone " ) because they outwardly an abalone ( "abalone " ) is similar.

Concholepas Concholepas is collected for its meat. Due to massive overfishing the stocks have declined dramatically. In Chile, the type has therefore been placed under protection in 1988. Since 1992, there is bound to permit exceptions, however, apply only to snails from a housing length of 10 cm. Some of the shells are used, for example as an ashtray in Chile.

The haemocyanin from the blood of this type is examined for possible uses in bladder cancer and prostate cancer through.